A Small Favor
by QTR
Summary: Catherine asks a small favor of Sara. Later, Sara goes missing. What happens when Sara sides with her kidnapper? And what is the cleansing? GSR.
1. A Small Favor

"But-! I-! Catherine-! Why-!"

"Please, Sara? Just do this for me, please!" Catherine begged. "I know you have the night off, but please! My mother's sick and my sister's out of town and Lindsey has no one else to stay with! I have a tough shift tonight!"

Sara sighed as she looked at Catherine. She was practically on her knees begging.

"Okay…" Sara said closing her eyes but opened them quickly as Catherine hugged her tightly.

"THANK YOU!" she said happily.

"Sure…" Sara said panting for breath after the tight hug. "But…what am I going to do with her?"

"Just take her to a movie or dinner or something and then take her to your apartment for a while until I come and pick her up. I can give you money," Catherine said already reaching into her pocket for her wallet.

"No, it's okay, I can pay for it. Go catch some bad guys," Sara said and Catherine smiled as she headed towards the door. "I'll drop Lindsey off at seven." And with that she left.

Sara smiled nervously and slid down to the floor sighing.

"I'm not good with kids…" she muttered to herself and rubbed her temple.

Catherine smiled as she drove off. "I get Sara out of the house and Lindsey has someone to stay with. It's a win-win situation!" she said to herself and drove to her house.

"Lindsey!" she called. Soon a small little girl with a strong resemblance to Catherine ran out of her room and hugged Catherine. "Hey!" she smiled hugging the small girl.

"Hey, mom!" she smiled looking up at her.

"Hey Lindsey- you know Sara from work?" Catherine asked sitting down. Lindsey sat across from her and nodded. "She's going to take you to dinner tonight while I'm at work, okay?" Lindsey smiled. "Okay! I've never spent any time with Sara before!" she was obviously excited and Catherine smiled.

Sara woke up when her cell phone rumbled. She picked up her phone. "Sidle…" she answered yawning.

"Hey Sara, it's Catherine. Were you asleep?"

Sara quickly rubbed her eyes to wake herself up. "Oh, uh no. What's up?"

"Oh, well…I've been knocking at your door for a few minutes now. It's 7:06."

Sara's eyes widened as she looked over at the clock.

"I'm sorry, Catherine! I was taking a little nap and—"

"Hey, it's okay. Just open the door," she laughed and hung up. Sara ran over to the door, fixing her hair a bit and opened the door.

"Hey Lindsey," she said smiling at the little girl standing in the doorway.

"Hey Sara!" she smiled and gave her a hug.

Sara smiled and looked up at Catherine.

"Well, I'll leave you two alone and go catch some criminals. I'll be back soon to pick you up, Lindsey," Catherine said before giving her a kiss and a quick hug and walking out. "Thanks again, Sara," she said thanking her before driving off.

"So…what do you want to do, Lindsey?" Sara asked closing the door to her apartment.

"I'm kind of hungry," she said, already taking a seat in a small recliner in the living room.

"Okay, would you like to go out?" Sara asked her, now sitting across from her.

"Okay!" she said. Sara smiled- the little girl was like a mini clone of Catherine.

"Okay, let me get my jacket and then we'll head out," Sara said standing up and walking into the kitchen where she grabbed her jacket off of the counter and slipped her wallet into her pocket. "Okay, let's go," she said and Lindsey bolted up from the chair, running out of the apartment.

Sara laughed as she closed and locked the door, heading to her car.

On the drive to the restaurant Lindsey told Sara about her day at school and pretty much her life in a nutshell. Sara just listened intently, ever now and then laughing at the little girl's jokes. They arrived at the restaurant and they walked inside.

"Mom says you're a vegetarian," Lindsey said sitting across from Sara.

She nodded. "Yeah, she's right."

"How can you only eat plants?" Lindsey asked.

"Well…it's a rather gross story, Lindsey. Maybe I'll tell you later," she laughed a little and Lindsey nodded. A waitress came and took their orders.

"She's a sweet little girl. Is she your daughter?" the woman asked looking at Sara with a smile.

Sara raised a brow- they didn't look alike in any way.

"She's my friend's daughter," Sara quickly said.

She nodded. "Ah, well you tell your friend she has a precious little girl," she said walking off after ruffling Lindsey's hair.

"I'm 13! Why does everyone treat me like a little kid?" Lindsey asked pouting.

Sara laughed. "Well, Lindsey- you are a teenager and a very smart girl, but you are still only 13."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lindsey asked.

"Well, you are still young," Sara added.

"I guess you're right," Lindsey said as their food came. They ate in between laughing- the little girl talked and talked about the little things she had done at school with her friends and that she had done with her mother.

"You love your mom very much, Lindsey," Sara said smiling.

"Yeah, but I don't see her very much," she said with a slight frown.

"You know she loves you too, Lindsey. She's just very busy. You know what? She talks about how much she misses you at work all the time," Sara said smiling.

"She does?" Lindsey asked a bit surprised.

"Of course she does!" Sara added as she took another bite of her salad. Lindsey had a smile on her face that lasted until the end of dinner.

TBC


	2. Missing

"Grissom!" Catherine was walking through the lab looking for her boss. "Grissom!" she called again. She sighed as she walked into the evidence room to find Nick and Warrick going over their case.

"Have you guys seen Grissom?" Catherine asked them. Warrick looked up, as did Nick.

"Um…no, why?" Nick asked.

Catherine sighed. "Shift's over, I need to go pick Lindsey up."

"Then go pick her up," came Grissom's voice. He was standing in the doorway.

"There you are! Okay, I'm leaving for the night, catch you guys later," Catherine said walking out after the guys said goodbye.

Catherine got into her SUV and started the car, hoping that both Lindsey and Sara had a good time. She backed up and drove out of the parking lot, heading toward Sara's apartment. What Sara didn't realize, Catherine thought, was that she was a lot better than kids that she thought she was. Catherine smiled as she pulled up to the apartment complex and got out of her car.

She knocked on the door. "Sara?"

No answer.

"Sara?" she knocked again.

No answer. There wasn't even background noise from a television.

"Sara! It's Catherine."

No answer.

She picked up her cell phone and dialed Sara's number.

No answer.

"Sara? It's Catherine…listen, you're not at your apartment, so I'm just calling to see where you were…okay, bye," she said leaving a voice message. She closed her phone and rubbed her forehead. She just wanted to go home.

"Lindsey, where'd you go?" Sara asked rounding a corner. Lindsey had disappeared, and she had left her cell phone in her car. She kept walking around the corners, never seeming to get any closer to where she needed to be.

"Lindsey?"

She got no answer. She swallowed hard as panic began to grow inside of her. She reached for her gun that was usually holstered on her side. Damn- she forgot it wasn't there. She walked around each corner cautiously ready to attack if anything jumped out at her.

She heard a muffled voice in the distance.

"Lindsey? Come on, this isn't funny. Come out."

She walked closer to the source of the noise.

"Lindsey?" she said. She saw the sweater that the little girl had been wearing on the ground.

"L-Lindsey, I'm serious, come out now. Stop playing." She just reassured herself that it was a joke. It had to be. Lindsey couldn't be gone; Catherine had trusted her. She turned around as she heard footsteps approaching her. She felt a stinging pain in her head as she fell to the ground motionless.

Catherine drove around for a long while, thinking of all the possible places Sara could have taken Lindsey. She tried the movie theater, searching the parking lot for Sara's car. She didn't find it. She went to the park- no dice. She sighed as she drove. She had been circling the town for hours and still nothing.

"God…" Catherine said rubbing her temple. She was exhausted. All she wanted was to go home and sleep knowing that her daughter was safe. She parked in front of a restaurant before resting her head on the steering wheel.

Where could they be? They weren't at Sara's apartment and they weren't at the movie theater or the park…wait.

She looked up…is that Sara's car?

She got out of her car and locked the door. She went around to the SUV in front of her and saw the LVPD sticker in the front window. She sighed in relief. She walked into the restaurant only to find no Sara or Lindsey. Crap.

She ran out of the restaurant, panicked. What could have happened? She ran around the corner to find Lindsey sitting in the corner hugging her knees.

"Lindsey!" Catherine ran over to her daughter who was in tears. She hugged her tightly. "My god, Lindsey! You scared me!" she said wiping the tears away from her daughter's face. "Where's Sara?"

Lindsey shook her head. "I don't know…we were walking out of the restaurant and were going to go to Sara's apartment…she said she'd help me with my homework," Lindsey said crying and clinging to her mother's shoulder.

"Then what happened, Lindsey?"

"I was walking behind Sara and this guy grabbed me…he put something up to my face…it smelt really bad. I don't know what happened after that," Lindsey cried.

"Shh…it's okay," Catherine said holding the girl. "It's going to be okay."

Lindsey soon stopped crying and she carried the now sleeping girl to her car. She drove to her house and carried Lindsey to her bed, tucking her in. She soon fell asleep on the couch, completely forgetting about Sara.

She soon woke up and headed to the kitchen, making herself a cup of coffee. Her eyes widened. Sara! What happened to Sara?

"Damn," Catherine muttered and looked at her watch. She looked back at the sleeping Lindsey. She had to find Sara…what if something happened to her? She grabbed her keys and locked all the doors and windows to the house and left Lindsey. She'd be back soon.

Hopefully.

She jumped into her car after wiping the sleep from her eyes and started the car. She turned on the air to keep her awake and the radio. She drove back to where she found Lindsey and ran out.

"Sara?"

She got no answer as she continued down the corners of the alley.

"Sara, are you there?"

Still no answer- she continued down the alley- still no Sara.

Now her heart was pounding loudly. She just forgot about Sara. How could she have done that? Sara could be in trouble!

She looked down in front of her to see a bracelet on the ground. Wait…she recognized that. It was Sara's!

"Oh no…" Catherine said picking it up off the ground.

Sara had been kidnapped.


	3. The Letter

Sara woke up with a throbbing pain in her head. Damn. Now she remembered what had happened- but where was Lindsey? She hoped that at least Lindsey had been found.

She tried to move, but she found herself bound in the middle of a dark room. She couldn't move her legs and her arms were bound tightly. She struggled against the duct tape that covered her arms and legs, but it was useless.

"Damn," she muttered to herself. Now she really wished she had never agreed to watch Lindsey. She had no idea where Lindsey was, and if she got hurt, Catherine would kill her.

She looked up to see a door open and a figure walked into the room and kneeled down beside her. They shined a flashlight on her face, blinding her.

"Huh…so you were the one with the little runt, eh?" The voice was calm and cold; Sara recognized it as a man's voice.

"Don't worry about that kid, I let her go," he smiled as he brushed some hair away from Sara's face. "But you…I couldn't resist," he said lifting her chin up with two of his fingers. He stood up and paced around the room.

"What to do, what to do…" he sighed. "Oh, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Daniel Burnun," he said taking a bow. "And I already know who you are- CSI 3 Sidle," he smiled and sat down from across Sara.

"How I have waited for this day!" he exclaimed.

Sara raised a brow in curiosity, and he quickly answered her question.

"The day that I would have a beautiful woman in my home," he smiled.

Sara felt sick; now she was sorry that she asked.

He moved around behind her and put a foot on her back gently.

"To have someone's life in my hands…"

He stomped down on her back, making her cry out in pain.

"Knowing that I could take it away at any moment…"

He put his head down beside hers and smiled.

"It's exhilarating."

He laughed harshly as he saw her struggle against the binds.

"Look at you! It's pathetic!" he laughed, thoroughly enjoying himself.

Sara looked up at him in disbelief- this guy was crazy.

Catherine paced back and forth.

"Where could she be? What if she's…" she couldn't finish her sentence. She was now at the lab and she had explained to everyone what had happened. They searched the bracelet and all they found were epotheleoles from Sara.

"Damn…" Warrick said walking into the break room to find a pacing Catherine.

"It's my fault; I forgot about her," Catherine said looking up at Warrick. "I shouldn't have done that! Now we have no idea where she is!"

"Catherine, it's okay," Warrick said trying to calm her down. "We'll find her."

Catherine sighed. "I hope you're right Warrick. For the love of god I hope you're right."

Sara grunted as she twisted her hands around, trying to rip the tape. She had beads of sweat dripping down her face as she struggled with effort. She sighed out of exhaustion when she found she couldn't do it.

She saw a knife a few feet away from her and gasped. That was it! If she could only reach the knife…

She now felt determined. She rolled over to reach the knife and smiled when she felt it between her hands. She started cutting at the tape…

"Ha! Gotcha!"

She heard her captor's gruesome voice as she felt the knife be yanked from her hands and all her hopes gone.

She looked up to see the man who had a grin on his face and held a string attached to the string, suspending it in thin-air.

"You're sick," Sara said putting her head down in defeat. He just laughed.

"No, I'm not sick, my love. I'm just misunderstood," he said sitting down in front of her. "Just like you."

Now she was curious. What the hell did that mean?

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Sara said looking up at him. He smiled.

"Alright, my love. I'll tell you what I know about you if you want to know that bad."

And with that, her captor now became a storyteller, sitting in front of his bound victim telling her all the things he knew about her life.

Everything she longed to keep a secret from those whom she was closest to.

Catherine had fallen asleep. She didn't sleep long or well for that matter. Her dreams and thoughts were haunted with the images of worst-case scenarios involving Sara. When she finally woke up she found Warrick sitting next to her with a cup of coffee.

"Hey," he said handing her the cup of coffee. "Nightmares?"

She nodded taking the coffee after thanking him. "Yeah…Warrick, we need to find her."

"I know," Warrick said putting a hand on her shoulder. "And we will."

"Catherine, Warrick! Get in here now!" Grissom's voice made them jump out of their seats and run into the layout room Grissom was in.

"What, Grissom?" Warrick asked panting.

"We just got a letter from the kidnapper," Grissom said slipping on a pair of latex gloves and holding it up for both to see. He slid open the envelope carefully, trying not to destroy any potential evidence and he pulled out a thin piece of paper and read the letter.

_Dear Las Vegas Crime Lab,_

_I'm sure you are worried about Sara. Rest assured that she is perfectly fine; I am not planning on hurting her. Note that she will be not returning to the crime lab after tonight's events. She will be descending with me into a new life; a life away from all the pain and suffering you sons of bitches put her through. I understand her and her specific needs; none of you do._

_So, how did I know where she was going that night with the little runt? I followed her, of course. Ms. Willows, rest easy- I did not do anything to harm your little girl. None of you care about Sara; you will deny it all you want, but none of you do._

_Mr. Stokes- when was the last time you just said hello to Sara to be friendly? Never? I thought so- remember the time you told her she needed to get out more? What do you think that did to her, hmm? You think you were trying to help her but you hurt her more than you will ever know._

_Mr. Brown, you never liked Ms. Sidle from the beginning, did you? She was called in to take over the investigation of Holly Gribbs and you got mad at her because she addressed your gambling problem verbally. Then, she did a background check on you and found you in the Monaco casino. You didn't appreciate that, did you?_

_Ah, Ms. Willows…you hated Sara the second you saw her enter the lab, didn't you? You didn't want her taking over the Holly Gribbs investigation, did you? And secondly, you found her annoying, didn't you? She got too emotional in many cases, huh? That must've pissed you off, especially after the run-in she had with you, right?_

_And lastly Mr. Grissom…you are too late to apologize for everything you have put her through. You have hurt her in too many ways and too many times. That time she lost it with that abusive husband, you thought there was something wrong with her; you didn't stop to think she had a reason for her actions. Then, she grew attached to the rape victim, don't you remember? _

_Then, she told you that you didn't respect her. She was right, you know. A plant isn't going to fix that._

_After that pathetic excuse for a man- Hank Peddigrew…you did nothing to comfort her. You avoided her for many months after she got together with that EMT. And after she found out he was using her to cheat on his girlfriend, you avoided her still._

_Then the explosion…the infamous explosion- she was caught in the middle of it, and you went to check up on her; kudos Mr. Grissom. I will never forgive you for what you did next, however-_

_She asked you a simple question- she asked if you would like to have dinner with her. You rejected her, and you have no idea what that did to her. Did you ever wonder what might have led her to that DUI? Do you, Mr. Grissom?_

_Well, your hands are all in cold blood,_

_Daniel Burnun._

After they had all read the letter, they were all shell-shocked.

"I…never realized what I did to her," Catherine said, her voice breaking.

"Was I really that mean to her?" Warrick said looking at them all.

"I didn't mean what I said in a bad way," Nick said sighing.

Grissom didn't say anything; he was too shocked. He was just too scared to reveal to her his true feelings. He had worked all these years to get where he was today and he didn't want to risk it…

Even though he loved her smile and her cute stubborn manner. He loved how she always theorized at a crime scene- it helped him think, even though he told her it annoyed him. She thought aloud and didn't drop a case until she found the truth. Damn, she was a hell of a woman.

He didn't realize how much he could have hurt her- he was just scared. This guy was right- she asked him a simple question and he threw all of his chances of starting a relationship with her were thrown down the drain.


	4. The Cleansing

"So, Sara, first off, I want you to know that I have been watching you and your fri-…coworkers for quite a while," he said as she listened to what he had to say. "And I must say that I am quite surprised that you have stayed in that working environment," he said shaking his head.

"Anyways…let's start at your childhood," he said clearing his throat.

Crap- he really was going to do this!

"Your brother was in rehab, no? When you were about seven-years-old you noticed that your father started hitting your mother. They would yell at each other but it never got physical, did it?" he asked. His sense of satisfaction was gone. Now he sounded sad.

"Things went from bad to worse. Your mother started drinking and your father soon got fired from his job," he went on. "You had no friends at school and things just got worse when you went home," he said looking at her eyes. "And then that one night…" he added sighing.

"Your mother lost it. Your father hit you and she grabbed a knife and stabbed him. She stabbed him 11 times, I believe," he said closing his eyes to think.

"You went from one foster home to the next. They never appreciated you; they didn't want to take care of another kid, they just wanted money," he said opening his eyes.

"You got a job when you were older and paid your own college tuition," he added. "You went to Harvard and got a degree in forensic science and criminal justice. From there you went to San Francisco where you worked for the crime lab there," he said as he went on. "But then Gil Grissom called you and said he needed help at his lab. You left without hesitation, and that's when your life really fell apart."

She was now in tears. How did he know all of this? Why was he bringing up such bad memories?

"It's okay," he said pulling her closer to him. "You can cry."

She didn't realize why he was doing what he was doing- he was holding her in his arms and stroking her back as she cried.

"Sara…I want to tell you something," he said holding her chin up to his face. "My father used to beat me when I was a child. My mother was always drunk and one night she drank herself to death. Things went on the same way for seven years before child services came into the picture," he said looking into her eyes.

Her eyes widened. He could tell she was lighting up to him and he cut the duct tape on her arms and legs.

"He beat you?" she said wiping the tears from her eyes, completely forgetting about him kidnapping her.

He nodded. "Yeah, and I went into foster care soon after child services came in."

Her eyes softened- she had no idea. She had met someone with a similar story to her own.

He pulled her closer to him. "Sara, come with me. Let me take you away from this miserable place. Let me make you forget about the pain those people have caused you here and we can start a new life. Together," he said rubbing her cheek.

"I understand you, Sara. We're two of a kind; we're made for each other."

She looked up at him. "Why did you kidnap me?"

"I'm dreadfully sorry for that, dear," he said rubbing her head where he had hit her. "I ran out of chloroform and I needed to get you away from those awful people," he said kissing her forehead. She looked into his eyes- he was serious. For once she had met someone who cared about her.

"Well, I ran the name Daniel Burnun through CODIS. Get this- he was arrested in '85 for attempted murder and first-degree kidnapping," Nick said sitting down in the break room.

"Okay, so this guy has Sara…he gave us his name?" Catherine asked a bit confused.

"He thinks he understands Sara. He's probably making up some lie to make her side with him," Grissom said walking into the room. "I ran his name again and found out some information about his first kidnapping victim," he said putting the file down.

"She was a tall young blonde woman in her early thirties. He told her that he was sexually molested as a child because she was raped," he said shaking his head. "This guy is sick. He picks out his victims and watches them until he finally strikes," he said sighing. "He apparently told her that he would give her a new life with him, but that's when the attempted murder charges came in," he said.

Warrick, Catherine, and Nick all sat in silence as they allowed him to continue.

"He tried to kill her; told her he was cleansing her of all the pain she had gone through," he said, now his tone firm.

"And how long did he have this woman?" Warrick asked.

"72 hours."

"Then we have to hurry up!" Catherine said jumping out of her seat.

"We have already found out he has a property out in Henderson. He's not very original; it's the same place he took the last woman," Grissom told them.

"Alright, let's call Brass and take care of this bastard," Catherine said as they left the break room.

"Sara?" Daniel asked as he walked back into the room she had been staying in.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"I am going to be cleansing you."

"What?" Sara asked. What the hell did that mean?

"It's a ritual," he said sitting down in front of her. "It's the only way to cleanse your mind and body of all the pain you have gone through."

With that, he pulled out a small kit from behind him. He opened it up revealing several knives and razors of different shapes and sizes.

Sara's eyes widened- she now realized what was going on. She remembered a case from twenty years ago- a man attempted to kill a woman in this very same way. He claimed he would be cleansing her of her pain. He lied to her- said he was sexually molested as a child to gain her trust.

"Now I know who you are!" Sara said jumping to her feet. "How could I have been so stupid? Daniel Burnun- convicted of first-degree kidnapping and attempted murder in 1985!" she said backing up.

"Sara…you're not really going to believe those lies, now are you?" he said getting to his feet.

"They're not lies! Everything you told me were lies! You just wanted to gain my trust before you killed me!"

"Sara, sweetheart, I have no idea where you heard such nonsense."

"You're trying to kill me!" she screamed. He walked closer to her, the kit holstered to his side.

"Stay away from me!" she said backing up- she was soon stopped by the wall.

"Sara…" he put his hands on her shoulders. She was shaking. He struck her hard in the face and she fell limp into his arms. "…The cleansing must begin."

And with that he carried her to the center of the room and began picking out the necessary tools for his 'ritual'.

"Grissom, you're almost there," Brass told him.

"Okay, I'll tell you when you guys can move in. If you guy go in first you might scare the guy and he could hurt Sara," he said over the radio in his car and approached his destination.

Inside the building, Daniel picked up a small blade and cut his own finger, drawing a line between him and Sara.

The cleansing was about to start.


	5. Only With You

Grissom drove closer to the address.

"Sara, hang on," he mumbled as if she could hear him.

Daniel picked a knife up from the kit and examined it before staring down at the disoriented Sara. She was dizzy and she didn't quite know what was going on.

"And now..." he said holding the knife above her. "It begins."

Before the knife could come down, the door was thrown open.

"Daniel Burnun- freeze! I'm with the Las Vegas police department, don't move!" Grissom said holding his gun in front of him, pointing it at the man.

"The cleansing must start," he said standing up. "And I won't let you get in my way."

"I'm armed- think about this! Just let her go and you won't be killed!" Grissom yelled. The man walked closer and closer to him. Sara stirred.

_"Damn...my head hurts...what happened?"_

Grissom was still calling out to the man, trying to convince him to put the knife down.

_"Grissom? Is that him?"_

She heard his voice again. She slowly opened her eyes and looked to her side to see her captor holding a knife to the man she loved. She quickly stood up, trying her best to keep her balance.

"STOP!" she screamed. Daniel turned around and looked at her.

"You two have ruined everything," he muttered angrily. "I was going to give you a new life with me!" he yelled to Sara.

"You're delusional," she said walking towards him.

"Sara, don't," Grissom said, his voice now with a hint of concern for her well-being.

She looked at Grissom and her eyes told him she knew what she was doing.

"Put the knife down."

He didn't make any move to put the knife down.

"Put it down!" she yelled again.

He just stared at her.

"I was going to give you a new life; one away from all the pain you suffered as a child and an adult," he said in disbelief. "Why are you protecting the one man who hurt you the most?"

"He may not be perfect, and yes he may have hurt me in the past," Sara started. "But I'm sure as hell not going to let someone kill or hurt him!" she yelled and ran at him.

"SARA!" Grissom yelled. Everything was a blur- he couldn't tell what was happening. One moment Sara had lunged at the man and the next they were fighting.

"Damn it, you bitch!" Daniel yelled making a move to stab her. She moved out of the way and knocked the knife from his hands. He grabbed her and held her in front of him. "Shoot, Mr. Grissom! I dare you!" he yelled. "SHOOT!"

Grissom was now shaking- what did he do? He had no idea what to do in this situation...the academy sure didn't prepare him for this.

"Sara..." he whispered looking at her with worried eyes.

"Do it, Mr. Grissom!" he shouted again, challenging him.

He stared at Sara. He loved her too much, he couldn't risk hurting her. He felt like a jerk- how could he have ever hurt her? She was a smart, funny, beautiful young woman. How could he have done anything to hurt her?

"Sara..." he said again staring into her eyes- the same eyes that lit up every room in the lab and every corner of his mind at every minute. The only reason he asked her to come to Vegas aside from the Holly Gribbs case was because he wanted to see her. And now her life was in the hands of a psychotic killer.

"Grissom," she whispered noticing the sadness in his eyes. She elbowed Daniel in the chest and twisted his wrist behind his back and knocked him off balance.

Grissom raised a brow- he had no idea what Sara could do.

"Grissom, aim the gun!" she said running over to him.

He aimed the gun at the man, now laying on the floor and then wrapped his other arm around Sara's waist.

"I thought I was going to lose you," he whispered in her ear. She looked up at him.

"You can't get rid of me that easily," she said with a smile before turning back to the man on the ground.

He grunted as he stood up, holding his wrist gingerly at his side.

"Bitch..." he muttered as he ripped off his shirt- under it he was wearing a vest...it looked like it had a clock on it.

"Sara...run," Grissom said, backing up, his eyes widening. She didn't move at all. "Sara, I said run!" he said looking down at her. She looked back into his eyes.

"I know what you said," she whispered. "I'm not going to leave you, you jerk," she smiled as they turned back to the now psychotic and suicidal man.

"Put the gun down!" he yelled. Grissom threw the gun to the floor, but out of Daniel's reach.

"This is Grissom. Brass, listen, don't send any other officers inside; this guy's got a bomb strapped to him," Grissom said over his radio.

"Grissom..."

"Brass, don't."

"Okay...you two better get out of there alive, you hear me?" And then there was a second voice on the radio. "Sara? Sara, are you there?" It was Catherine.

"Catherine? I'm here," Sara replied over the radio.

"Oh god, Sara. I'm so sorry about this, I should've just watched Lindsey."

"Catherine, it's fine. I'll be fine and Griss will be fine. Don't apologize."

"Sara..."

"I'm serious, Cath; don't dwell on it. Now, get the hell away from the building before this maniac blows ALL of us up."

"Stay alive in there, you hear me?"

"I will, Cath. Over and out."

And with that, the radio clicked off.

"Get ready to die!" Daniel yelled and flicked a switch on the bomb strapped to his chest. He ran over to the side of the room and flicked four switches, locking all of the doors.

Grissom and Sara both sunk to the floor. Grissom held Sara tightly in his arms.

"I guess this is it," she whispered.

"I guess so."

"I love you Grissom."

"I love you too, Sara."

They kissed before they heard the final beeps of the bomb timer.

5

4

3

2

They both clung to each other, feeling that if they let go, they would lose eachother.

1

Fire and smoke erupted from the building.

"SARA! GRISSOM!" Catherine screamed as the bomb went off. She ran to Warrick who held her as she cried, trying to fight off the tears that were threatening to fall down his own face.

"SON OF A BITCH!" Nick yelled kicking an old chair in the desolate area.

"Officers- MOVE IN! NOW!" Brass yelled and the officers ran inside.

_God...Sara...Grissom...don't die on me!_

TBC


	6. Hold Me

_"By the time you figure it out, it really could be too late." _

The words haunted his every thought. How could he have been so cold and heartless as to shut out the one woman he may have had a chance with? All he wanted was to just hold her in his arms and kiss her and tell her everything was going to be okay and how sorry he was for ever hurting her. But now that chance may never come.

As the bomb went off, Daniel Burnun was reduced to pieces, literally. The force of the blast pushed Sara and Grissom back, and they were forced to let go of each other. Sara looked at Grissom as they flew backwards, staring at his deep calm blue eyes. She could tell everything was going to be alright.

_"Pin me down." _

After that episode Sara had really thought her chances of a relationship with Grissom were gone. She had blown her chances. All she said were three little words- she was going over evidence and testing her theory...kind of.

The look in his eyes as she stared at him and tried to keep her mind on the case and her theory made her stop in her tracks. The feel of his skin against her arms as he held onto her made her shiver. Never had a man done what Gil Grissom had done to Sara Sidle.

When Sara and Grissom finally landed on the ground, they went limp. Their bodies refused to try and get up; let the EMTs move them. They just lay there on the ground, motionless, unaware of the injuries they might have sustained from the explosion.

Grissom slowly opened his eyes and stared at Sara- she had one eyes cracked open. Somehow, they found the strength to find eachother's hands and hold onto eachother until the EMTs were inside the building. They both closed their eyes and welcomed the sleep that they both desperately needed and that was overcoming both their mind and body every second.

_"I'd like to get some flowers...no, not flowers, a plant. A living plant. She likes vegetation."_

He stuttered on the line to the man taking his order; he had never ordered flowers let alone a plant for a girl before.

_"The sentiment?"_

What was he supposed to say? Catherine was in his living room hearing every second of his phone conversation.

_"On the card. Of course...have it say...'From Grissom'."_

Boy was that original. Sara got the plant, though he didn't know if she kept it or not; whether she was mad at him still or she had forgiven him.

And then there was Hank. Hank Peddigrew, what a character- he had some nerve to go out and use Sara to cheat on his girlfriend. Grissom was one to talk, he had hurt Sara before too, but he didn't use her to cheat on someone else! Hank had really done some damage. Grissom wanted to mend their friendship, as well as their relationship. He was wrong for what he did to Sara; he loved her.

Then the explosion. He saw her sitting alone on the sidewalk and walked over to her.

_"Are you alright?"_

She looked up at him, a bit disoriented.

_"Uh-huh. Clean-up's gonna be a job; we should get started."_

After all that happened she was still thinking about work. He then noticed her hand that was sitting gently in her lap and he lifted it up, cupping it in his own hand, his warmth rubbing off onto her smooth skin.

_"Honey, this doesn't look good."_

She had a bloodied gash on her hand, and he was sure she was going to deny anything was wrong and demand to go straight back to work.

_"It's fine."_

There was her stubbornness. He loved her for it, it was one of many of her adoring qualities, but he wouldn't give in this time. She needed help.

_"Could you take care of her hand please?"_

And the EMT escorted Sara to the ambulance.

_"Would you like to have dinner with me?"_

A simple question, which Sara soon regretted asking her boss. He stared at her as if she were one of his experiments.

_"No."_

He let her off hard. 'No'. Not a 'no thank you' or a 'I have some paperwork I have to catch up on'. Just a plain 'no'. She felt someting break inside of her.

_"Come on, let's have dinner- let's see what happens."_

He stared at her, half of him wanting to scream yes and the other half holding him back. He wanted to have dinner with her, but he wasn't sure what to do. He was confused.

_"Sara...I don't know what to do about this."_

Her enthusiastic smile faded and he stared at her standing in his office.

_"I do, and by the time you figure it out it really could be too late."_

She left him with those words. Was it too late to mend their relationship? Was it too late to admit his love for her and to apologize for being an insensitive jerk?

She had opened up to him, sharing with him some dark secrets of her past. She trusted him with the information. He felt there was more to the story than just the little bit she shared, but he wasn't going to push her for more answers. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it- watching her cry always made him sad. He wanted to hold her and comfort her, but he couldn't.

And then finally the cold sharp-tipped edge of that hardened piece of clay held up against her throat. He just watched through the glass, staring into her eyes. He wanted to help her, but he couldn't.

But now he could.

He felt his hand tighten around the smiling brunette's fingers as he felt himself fall into unconsciousness. Somehow, they both knew everything was going to be okay. Somehow, they both knew they would be together. Somehow, they knew they would have another chance.

Sara stroked the back of his hand before she let the long-awaited sleep consume her. She was happy; they were together and that was all she cared about. They had both made mistakes in the past but they forgave eachother. And now, they both had a second chance to make things right.

Catherine and the rest of the team had to stay back as the police officers ran inside the building, or what was left of it, to clear the way. Then, the EMTs made their way into the building searching for both Sara and Grissom. They found them lying next to eachother, both had thier fingers entwined with each other's, and they could've sworn that for a second they saw a smile on both of their faces.

They checked for pulses- they were there. They slowly lifted both of them onto stretchers and took them out of the building. Catherine and Warrick rode with Sara and Greg and Nick rode with Grissom. They both had strong pulses, which was a good sign.

They were going to have their second chance. They knew it.

Both Sara and Grissom were rushed into the hospital. Catherine, Warrick, Nick, and Greg sat in the waiting room. They fell asleep after a little while, but they didn't sleep long; they were eager to find out how their friends were doing.

Eventually, a doctor came out the two double-doors and held up a clipboard.

"Ms. Willows?" he asked stepping into her view. She stood up and shook his hand.

"My name is Dr. Tryke, I treated both Ms. Sidle and Mr. Grissom," he said moving his hand back to the clipboard. "I was told to contact you with information regarding their conditions, but seeing as you all are here, I will share it with you all," he said putting the clipboard down.

"It is my pleasure to inform you that both Ms. Sidle and Mr. Grissom will be making full recoveries," he said with a smile. Catherine sighed in relief and Warrick hugged her. Greg smiled and Nick's mood changed for the better.

"They have sustained minor cuts and bruising as well as some minor burns, and they both have sligh concussions from the impact. They will need to stay a few days to recover, but after that they should be fine."

Catherine was crying tears of joy and dug her face into Warrick's chest. He hugged her and rubbed her back. Greg jumped up and hugged Nick. Normally, Nick would have been taken aback at the gesture, but he returned the hug. They were all too happy to argue.

"Hey, beautiful," his voice made her eyes open and she smiled when she found he was laying in the bed next to hers.

"Hey you big jerk," she said smiling.

He smiled back. "I'm sorry, Sara."

She reached out for his hand which he extended and they soon were both holding eachother's hands.

"It's okay, you're forgiven," she said. "How're you feeling?"

"Good, a little sore and sleepy, but fine. You?"

"Like hell," she laughed a little as did he. She had small cuts on her face as well as a bruise on her forehead, but Grissom was pretty much in the same shape she was.

"Sara, when we get out of here, I'd like to take you to dinner," he said squeezing her hand.

She raised a brow.

"Somewhere nice, and I don't want this to be a fling. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Sara Sidle."

She smiled; she had been waiting to hear him say that for five years.

"Me too, Gil."

She returned the squeeze of his hand and blinked.

"Now I'm teary-eyed," she laughed wiping the tears away.

"Sorry," he said feeling a bit guilty.

"No, it's okay," she said smiling. "Don't be sorry. As long as I'm with you, I have no complaints."

He smiled. "Neither do I," he said and rubbed the back of her hand gently. They both soon fell into another deep sleep, falling asleep just when Catherine and the rest of the team came to visit them.

"Let's let them sleep," Warrick said and Catherine smiled looking at the scene before her and walked out.

They were still holding eachother's hands.

The End


End file.
